Page 148 - Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

|20 ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES

" I never have.''
Holmes turned over the leaves of the book upon his knee.
" Here it is," said he, presently, " Ku Klux Klan. A name
*
derived from the fanciful resemblance to the sound produced
by cocking a rifle. This terrible secret society was formed by
some ex-Confederate soldiers in the Southern States after the
Civil War, and it rapidly formed local branches in different
parts of the country, notably in Tennessee, Louisiana, the
Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. Its power was used "for po-
litical purposes, principally for the terrorizing of the negro
voters, and the murdering and driving from the country of
those who were opposed to its views. Its outrages were usu-
ally preceded by a warning sent to the marked man in some
fantastic but generally recognized shape—a sprig of oak-leaves
in some parts, melon seeds or orange pips in others. On re-
ceiving this the victim might either openly abjure his former
ways, or might fly from the country. If he braved the matter
out, death would unfailingly come upon him, and usually in
some strange and unforeseen manner. So perfect was the or-
ganization of the society, and so systematic its methods, that
there is hardly a case upon record where any man succeeded
in braving it with impunity, or in which any of its outrages
were traced home to the perpetrators. For some years
the organization flourished, in spite of the efforts of the
United States Government and of the better classes of the
community in the South. Eventually, in the year 1869,
the movement rather suddenly collapsed, although there
have been sporadic outbreaks of the same sort since that
date.'
" You will observe," said Holmes, laying down the volume,
" that the sudden breaking up of the society was coincident
with the disappearance of Openshaw from America with their
papers. It may well have been cause and effect. It is no
wonder that he and his family have some of the more impla-
cable spirits upon their track. You can understand that this
register and diary may implicate some of the first men in the